-.\" $Id: man.7,v 1.14 2009/06/18 10:32:00 kristaps Exp $
+.\" $Id: man.7,v 1.24 2009/08/13 12:31:50 kristaps Exp $
.\"
.\" Copyright (c) 2009 Kristaps Dzonsons <kristaps@kth.se>
.\"
.\" ACTION OF CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE OR OTHER TORTIOUS ACTION, ARISING OUT OF
.\" OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THIS SOFTWARE.
.\"
-.Dd $Mdocdate: June 18 2009 $
+.Dd $Mdocdate: August 13 2009 $
.Dt MAN 7
.Os
.\" SECTION
.Sh DESCRIPTION
The
.Nm man
-language was historically used to format
+language was historically used to format
.Ux
-manuals. This reference document describes the syntax and structure of
-this language.
+manuals. This reference document describes its syntax, structure, and
+usage.
.Pp
-.Em \&Do not
-use
+.Bf -emphasis
+Do not use
.Nm
-to write your manuals. Use the
+to write your manuals.
+.Ef
+Use the
.Xr mdoc 7
language, instead.
.\" PARAGRAPH
An
.Nm
document follows simple rules: lines beginning with the control
-character
+character
.Sq \&.
are parsed for macros. Other lines are interpreted within the scope of
prior macros:
.Sh INPUT ENCODING
.Nm
documents may contain only graphable 7-bit ASCII characters, the
-space character
-.Sq \ ,
-and tabs
-.Sq \et .
-All manuals must have
+space character, and the tabs character. All manuals must have
.Ux
-.Sq \en
-line termination.
+line termination.
.Pp
Blank lines are acceptable; where found, the output will assert a
vertical space.
subsequent word isn't off-set by whitespace.
.\" SUB-SECTION
.Ss Comments
-Anything following a
-.Sq \e"
-delimiter is considered a comment (unless the
-.Sq \e
-itself has been escaped) and is ignored to the end of line.
-Furthermore, a macro line with only a control character
-.Sq \. ,
-optionally followed by whitespace, is ignored.
+Text following a
+.Sq \e\*" ,
+whether in a macro or free-form text line, is ignored to the end of
+line. A macro line with only a control character and comment escape,
+.Sq \&.\e" ,
+is also ignored. Macro lines with only a control charater and
+optionally whitespace are stripped from input.
.\" SUB-SECTION
.Ss Special Characters
-Special character sequences begin with the escape character
+Special characters may occur in both macro and free-form lines.
+Sequences begin with the escape character
.Sq \e
-followed by either an open-parenthesis
+followed by either an open-parenthesis
.Sq \&(
for two-character sequences; an open-bracket
.Sq \&[
for n-character sequences (terminated at a close-bracket
.Sq \&] ) ;
-or a single one-character sequence.
+or a single one-character sequence. See
+.Xr mandoc_char 7
+for a complete list. Examples include
+.Sq \e(em
+.Pq em-dash
+and
+.Sq \ee
+.Pq back-slash .
+.\" SUB-SECTION----------------------
+.Ss Text Decoration
+Terms may be text-decorated using the
+.Sq \ef
+escape followed by an indicator: B (bold), I, (italic), or P and R
+(Roman, or reset).
+.\" SUB-SECTION----------------------
+.Ss Whitespace
+Unless specifically escaped, consecutive blocks of whitespace are pruned
+from input. These are later re-added, if applicable, by a front-end
+utility such as
+.Xr mandoc 1 .
+.\" SECTION
+.Sh MANUAL STRUCTURE
+Each
+.Nm
+document must contain contains at least the
+.Sq \&TH
+macro describing the document's section and title. It may occur
+anywhere in the document, although conventionally, it appears as the
+first macro.
.Pp
-Characters may alternatively be escaped by a slash-asterisk,
-.Sq \e* ,
-with the same combinations as described above. This form is deprecated.
+Beyond
+.Sq \&TH ,
+at least one macro or text node must appear in the document. Documents
+are generally structured as follows:
+.Bd -literal -offset indent
+\&.TH FOO 1 "13 Aug 2009"
+\&.
+\&.SH NAME
+foo \e- a description goes here
+\&.
+\&.SH SYNOPSIS
+\efBfoo\efR [\efB\e-options\efR] arguments...
+\&.
+\&.SH DESCRIPTION
+The \efBfoo\efR utility does...
+\&.
+\&.\e\*q .SH RETURN VALUES
+\&.\e\*q .SH ENVIRONMENT
+\&.\e\*q .SH FILES
+\&.\e\*q .SH EXAMPLES
+\&.\e\*q .SH DIAGNOSTICS
+\&.\e\*q .SH ERRORS
+\&.\e\*q .SH SEE ALSO
+\&.\e\*q \efBbar\efR(1)
+\&.\e\*q .SH STANDARDS
+\&.\e\*q .SH HISTORY
+\&.\e\*q .SH AUTHORS
+\&.\e\*q .SH CAVEATS
+\&.\e\*q .SH BUGS
+.Ed
.\" SECTION
-.Sh STRUCTURE
+.Sh MACRO SYNTAX
Macros are one to three three characters in length and begin with a
control character ,
.Sq \&. ,
.Sq \&.\ \ \ \&PP
are equivalent.
.Pp
-All
-.Nm
-macros follow the same structural rules:
-.Bd -literal -offset indent
-\&.YO \(lBbody...\(rB
-.Ed
-.Pp
The
-.Dq body
-consists of zero or more arguments to the macro.
-.Pp
.Nm
-has a primitive notion of multi-line scope for the following macros:
-.Sq \&.TM ,
-.Sq \&.SM ,
-.Sq \&.SB ,
-.Sq \&.BI ,
-.Sq \&.IB ,
-.Sq \&.BR ,
-.Sq \&.RB ,
-.Sq \&.R ,
-.Sq \&.B ,
-.Sq \&.I ,
-.Sq \&.IR
-and
-.Sq \&.RI .
-When these macros are invoked without arguments, the subsequent line is
-considered a continuation of the macro. Thus:
-.Bd -literal -offset indent
-\&.RI
+macros are classified by scope: line scope or block scope. Line-scoped
+macros are only scoped to the current line (and, in some situations,
+the subsequent line). Block macros are scoped to the current line and
+subsequent lines until closed by another block macro.
+.\" SUBSECTION
+.Ss Line Macros
+Line-macros are scoped to the current line, with the body consisting of
+zero or more arguments. If a macro is next-line scoped and the line
+arguments are empty, the next line is used instead. Thus:
+.Bd -literal -offset indent
+\&.RI
foo
.Ed
+.\" PARAGRAPH
.Pp
-is equivalent to
+is equivalent to
.Sq \&.RI foo .
-If two consecutive lines exhibit the latter behaviour,
-an error is raised. Thus, the following is not acceptable:
-.Bd -literal -offset indent
-\&.RI
-\&.I
-Hello, world.
+.\" PARAGRAPH
+Consecutive next-line invocations are disallowed.
+.Bd -literal -offset indent
+\&.YO \(lBbody...\(rB
+\(lBbody...\(rB
.Ed
-.Pp
-The
-.Sq \&.TP
-macro is similar, but does not need an empty argument line to trigger
-the behaviour.
.\" PARAGRAPH
-.Sh MACROS
-This section contains a complete list of all
-.Nm
-macros and corresponding number of arguments.
.Pp
-.Bl -column "MacroX" "Arguments" -compact -offset indent
-.It Em Macro Ta Em Arguments
-.It \&.TH Ta >1, <6
-.It \&.SH Ta >0
-.It \&.SS Ta >0
-.It \&.TP Ta n
-.It \&.LP Ta 0
-.It \&.PP Ta 0
-.It \&.P Ta 0
-.It \&.IP Ta <3
-.It \&.HP Ta <2
-.It \&.SM Ta n
-.It \&.SB Ta n
-.It \&.BI Ta n
-.It \&.IB Ta n
-.It \&.BR Ta n
-.It \&.RB Ta n
-.It \&.R Ta n
-.It \&.B Ta n
-.It \&.I Ta n
-.It \&.IR Ta n
-.It \&.RI Ta n
+.Bl -column -compact -offset indent "MacroX" "ArgumentsX" "ScopeXXXXX"
+.It Em Macro Ta Em Arguments Ta Em Scope
+.It \&B Ta n Ta next-line
+.It \&BI Ta n Ta current
+.It \&BR Ta n Ta current
+.It \&I Ta n Ta next-line
+.It \&IB Ta n Ta current
+.It \&IR Ta n Ta current
+.It \&R Ta n Ta next-line
+.It \&RB Ta n Ta current
+.It \&RI Ta n Ta current
+.It \&SB Ta n Ta next-line
+.It \&SM Ta n Ta next-line
+.It \&TH Ta >1, <6 Ta current
+.It \&br Ta 0 Ta current
+.It \&fi Ta 0 Ta current
+.It \&i Ta n Ta current
+.It \&na Ta 0 Ta current
+.It \&nf Ta 0 Ta current
+.It \&r Ta 0 Ta current
+.It \&sp Ta 1 Ta current
.El
+.\" PARAGRAPH
.Pp
-Although not historically part of the
+The lower-case
+.Sq \&br ,
+.Sq \&fi ,
+.Sq \&i ,
+.Sq \&na ,
+.Sq \&nf ,
+.Sq \&r ,
+and
+.Sq \&sp
+macros aren't historically part of
.Nm
-system, the following macros are also supported:
+and should not be used. They're included for compatibility.
+.\" SUBSECTION
+.Ss Block Macros
+Block macros are comprised of a head and body. The head is scoped to
+the current line and, in one circumstance, the next line; the body is
+scoped to subsequent lines and is closed out by a subsequent block macro
+invocation.
+.Bd -literal -offset indent
+\&.YO \(lBhead...\(rB
+\(lBhead...\(rB
+\(lBbody...\(rB
+.Ed
+.\" PARAGRAPH
.Pp
-.Bl -column "MacroX" "Arguments" -compact -offset indent
-.It Em Macro Ta Em Arguments
-.It \&.br Ta 0
-.It \&.i Ta n
+If a block macro is next-line scoped, it may only be followed by in-line
+macros (excluding
+.Sq na ,
+.Sq sp ,
+.Sq nf ,
+.Sq fi ,
+and
+.Sq TH ) .
+.\" PARAGRAPH
+.Pp
+.Bl -column "MacroX" "Arguments" "ScopeXXXX" -compact -offset indent
+.It Em Macro Ta Em Arguments Ta Em Scope
+.It \&HP Ta <2 Ta current
+.It \&IP Ta <3 Ta current
+.It \&LP Ta 0 Ta current
+.It \&P Ta 0 Ta current
+.It \&PP Ta 0 Ta current
+.It \&SH Ta >0 Ta current
+.It \&SS Ta >0 Ta current
+.It \&TP Ta n Ta next-line
.El
+.\" SECTION
+.Sh REFERENCE
+This section is a canonical reference to all macros, arranged
+alphabetically. For the scoping of individual macros, see
+.Sx MACRO SYNTAX .
+.Bl -tag -width Ds
+.It \&B
+Text is rendered in bold face.
+.It \&BI
+Text is rendered alternately in bold face and italic. Thus,
+.Sq \&.BI this word and that
+causes
+.Sq this
+and
+.Sq and
+to render in bold face, while
+.Sq word
+and
+.Sq that
+render in italics. Whitespace between arguments is omitted in output.
+.It \&BR
+Text is rendered alternately in bold face and roman (the default font).
+Whitespace between arguments is omitted in output.
+.It \&HP
+Begin a paragraph whose initial output line is left-justified, but
+subsequent output lines are indented.
+.\" TODO.
+.It \&I
+Text is rendered in italics.
+.It \&IB
+Text is rendered alternately in italics and bold face. Whitespace
+between arguments is omitted in output.
+.It \&IP
+.\" TODO.
+.It \&IR
+Text is rendered alternately in italics and roman (the default font).
+Whitespace between arguments is omitted in output.
+.It \&LP, \&P, \&PP
+Begin an undecorated paragraph. The scope of a paragraph is closed by a
+subsequent paragraph, sub-section, section, or end of file.
+.It \&R
+Text is rendered in roman (the default font).
+.It \&RB
+Text is rendered alternately in roman (the default font) and bold face.
+Whitespace between arguments is omitted in output.
+.It \&RI
+Text is rendered alternately in roman (the default font) and italics.
+Whitespace between arguments is omitted in output.
+.It \&SB
+Text is rendered in small size (one point smaller than the default font)
+bold face.
+.It \&SH
+Begin a section. The scope of a section is only closed by another
+section or the end of file.
+.It \&SM
+Text is rendered in small size (one point smaller than the default
+font).
+.It \&SS
+Begin a sub-section. The scope of a sub-section is closed by a
+subsequent sub-section, section, or end of file.
+.It \&TH
+Sets the title of the manual page with the following syntax:
+.Bd -literal -offset indent
+\&.TH title section date source volume
+.Ed
.Pp
-These follow the same calling conventions as the above
-.Nm
-macros.
+At least the
+.Va title
+and
+.Va section
+arguments must be provided. The
+.Va date
+argument should be formatted as
+.Qq %b [%d] %Y
+format, described in
+.Xr strptime 3 .
+The
+.Va source
+string specifies the organisation providing the utility. The
+.Va volume
+replaces the default rendered volume as dictated by the manual section.
+.It \&TP
+Begin a paragraph where the head, if exceeding the indentation point, is
+followed by a newline; if not, the body follows on the same line after a
+buffer to the indentation point. Subsequent output lines are indented.
+.It \&br
+Breaks the current line. Consecutive invocations have no further effect.
+.\" TODO.
+.It \&fi
+End literal mode begun by
+.Sq \&nf .
+.It \&i
+Italicise arguments. If no arguments are specified, all subsequent text
+is italicised.
+.It \&na
+No alignment to the right margin.
+.It \&nf
+Begin literal mode: all subsequent free-form lines have their end of
+line boundaries preserved. May be ended by
+.Sq \&fi .
+.It \&r
+Fonts and styles (bold face, italics) reset to roman (default font).
+.It \&sp
+Insert n spaces, where n is the macro's positive numeric argument. If
+0, this is equivalent to the
+.Sq br
+macro.
+.El
+.\" SECTION
+.Sh COMPATIBILITY
+This section documents compatibility with other roff implementations, at
+this time limited to
+.Xr groff 1 .
+.Bl -hyphen
+.It
+In quoted literals, groff allowed pair-wise double-quotes to produce a
+standalone double-quote in formatted output. This idiosyncratic
+behaviour is no longer applicable.
+.It
+The
+.Sq \&sp
+macro does not accept negative numbers.
+.It
+Blocks of whitespace are stripped from both macro and free-form text
+lines (except when in literal mode), while groff would retain whitespace
+in free-form text lines.
+.El
.\" SECTION
.Sh SEE ALSO
.Xr mandoc 1 ,
.Sh AUTHORS
The
.Nm
-utility was written by
+reference was written by
.An Kristaps Dzonsons Aq kristaps@kth.se .
.\" SECTION
.Sh CAVEATS
git.ckatri.com / mandoc.git / blobdiff